Trattoria La Ruga

ive lived round the village for a few years now and most of the local eateries some time or another. on my first visit here i was impressed by the home cooked style of the food and the fresh seasonal feel to menu and promised to return. Sadly i have been let down by the place with the same main stays still on the menu..had the butter fish for the second time and must say it had fallen in standard, not up to stratch at all with the side veg and pot's being the best cooked part of the dish. hopefully i was just unlucky but for the cost of meal not sure im willing to give it another chance. if your going to do rustic food the ingrients and skill to pull it off must be there, sincerly hope it improves as this place is not bad by a long way but could be quite special in the village.
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Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5
Tuesday, June 06, 2006

This is my favourite restaurant. I love the ever changing menu - they cook whatever they bought that day - and I have never had anything less than fantastic food. The service is great and Peter makes you feel like one of that family, in fact I have been invited to join the family for drinks after our meal on two occaisons. You never feel rushed here, once you book the table it's yours for the night, and whilst it can be a bit cramped (as it's so popular), it all adds to the atmosphere. And for those complaining about the change of chef, they've got a better one in now.
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Catherine
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, May 19, 2006

not exactly difficult to be an institute in the village, there's bugger all else there!
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Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Friday, February 10, 2006

La Ruga isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it's certainly ours. Peter is a larger than life character and he's justifiably proud of his little retreat. Generally the food is superb and the service good. I have always considered the place more like a real Italian as you might find in, gasp, Italy: fresh produce, good (if pricey) wine and a friendly but not overbearing service. Its intimate, unhurried, relaxed. People expecting service akin to west end eateries a la Conran, Marco Pierre White etc, stay away, its not for anyone expecting to be bowed to or overly pampered and long may it stay that way!

My only, very minor criticism is that on occasion Peter has gate-crashed our table for almost the entire evening - he can be a bit of an evening-hijacker, but he's a great host, a very interesting guy and a big part of the reason why La Ruga is the way it is!

Why should there be a printed menu - who says? I think it refreshing that Peter chooses to vary his offering according to the best produce, meat, fish etc thats available on any given day!

La Ruga is an institution in the Village and I'll keep eating there until i'm old and grey!!
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Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Friday, January 13, 2006

I had a lovely meal and enjoyable time at this restaurant. The place is a little cramped, but the staff were friendly and the food was great. The menu seemed to consist of whatever the chef had been able to purchase on the day, this was a great novelty for me as I have only ever experienced this kind of service whilst travelling (could this be a one off for the East of London?).

Both food and wine were of an exceptionally high quality and would recommend a visit.
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Alz - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Thursday, December 22, 2005

I have to disagree - we had a wonderful meal here last week - a Friday night. The place was busy, buzzing, with a great atmosphere. The staff were friendly without crowding us, and the food!!! Fantastic. Price wise, we felt it was well worth it. I'm so glad it's on my doorstep!
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- View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Friday, December 09, 2005

when to the restaurant last friday and it was full.

which is always a good sign. we had the soup to start with was full of flavour. then we both shared the pumkin rissto which tasted of nothing and with the £25 bottle of wine made it taste worse.

i come here alot and tell all my friends about this place.but i think the new female chef is not a good as the last one

please note everyone that this restaurant is changing for good to bad.

peter please get the old chef back.
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micheal
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Friday, December 02, 2005

Tried to eat here last night. Found the staff incredible unfriendly - didnt even smile or say hello when we walked in! found the 'written menu only' deeply pretentious - why cant you browse a menu from the comfort of your own table? plus we could not read the handwriting on the wall. in the end we didnt stay. very disappointed indeed
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Sinead Hanks
Monday, November 28, 2005

Had a truly wonderful meal here last Friday, such a great host!

Wish you every success!
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Sam
Thursday, November 17, 2005

I went there on wednesday night at 8:30 and the place was empty (why).

i have the soup to start and my wife had the green salad with was good but the soup was a little cold and came with stale bread.

but the owner said it was fresh today, but gave us a free glass of wine which had a fantastic taste.

moving on to the main, might be the reason why this place is empty.

the steak was cooked well done when it should of been medium. and the grilled sea bass was really dry.

but what was good was the free vegatables which were crisp and beautifully cooked.

I have to after reading all the reviews i dont know what has happened to this place maybe a new chef.

we decided not to have dessert but the owner came to the table and sat down for a little chat a talked us in to sharing a cheesecake which was not home-made.

i feel very let down by this restaurant which has had great reviews.

As wellas having a great meal last week in the local restaurant just a few doors down.

i hope the owner can do somthing about the food or else i feel this restaurant will stay empty.

but have to say the wine was fantastic if not a little too expensive at £22 a bottle.
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MR J HARRIS
Thursday, September 22, 2005